Leishmania are protozoan parasites that are responsible for substantial public health problems, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. In a recent survey, 88 countries have been declared as leishmaniasis-endemic7. The current increase in leishmaniasis throughout the world to epidemic proportion coupled with increasing incidence of the disease in developed countries, and emergence of visceral leishmaniasis as an important opportunistic infection among people with human immunodeficiency-1 (HIV-1) infection9 have created an urgency to provide treatment for this intracellular infection. Studies on the molecular mechanisms of parasite entry have led to the identification of several candidate receptors facilitating multiple routes of entry and thus highlighting the redundancy in the entry process. These include macrophage cell surface receptors such as the CR1 and CR3, the mannose-fucose receptor, the fibronectin receptor, the receptor for advanced glycosylation end products, the Fc receptor and the C-reactive protein receptor8. However, the large number of different receptors responsible for the attachment and internalization of the parasite to macrophages have contributed to the fact that no single panacea has yet been developed for the treatment of leishmaniasis. 